ENOUGH is ENOUGH

Enough Series from Vintage Church on Vimeo.

This past Sunday was an amazing day. We launched a second gathering at our Valence Campus, had a great block party called V2K, and began a journey through the Book of Colossians called ENOUGH. We are going to learn through preaching and Community Group study that Christ is enough for our authority, identity, community and mobility.

You can subscribe to the Vintage Podcast and listen to the first sermon in our series:

www.vintagenola.org/podcast

Here is our journey this fall:

Christ is Enough from Vintage Church on Vimeo.

Wk 1/Aug 23 - Authority: Your Call (Col 1:1-2)
Wk 2/Aug 30 - Authority: Your Prayers (Col 1:3-12)
Wk 3/Sep 6 - Authority: Your Position (Col 1:13-18)
Wk 4/Sep 13 - Authority: Your Need (Col 1:19-23)
Wk 5/Sep 20 - Identity: Your Suffering (Col 1:24-29)
Wk 6/Sep 27 - Identity: Your Wisdom (Col 2:1-7)
Wk 7/Oct 4 - Identity: Your Sins (Col 2:8-15)
Wk 8/Oct 11 - Identity: Your Death (Col 2:16-23)
Wk 9/Oct 18 - Community: Your Life (Col 3:1-4)
Wk 10/Oct 25 - Community: Your Actions (Col 3:5-17)
Wk 11/Nov 1 - Community: Your Relationships (Col 3:18-4:1)
Wk 12/Nov 8 - Mobility: Your Speech (Col 4:2-6)
Wk 13/Nov 15 - Mobility: Your Mercy (Col 4:7-15)
Wk 14/Nov 22 - Mobility: Your Endurance (Col 4:16-18)

I am really excited to launch our Community Groups this fall. We have changed from 11 LIFEgroups to over 20 Community Groups. The biggest change is simple. We aren't encouraging people to have a Bible study once a week. We are encouraging people to "do life" together. Acts 2:47 says that "the Lord added to their number DAY BY DAY those who were being saved". That means they weren't just meeting on Sundays and Wednesdays. They were always on mission...being the church. As our CGs live out the Gospel, we have equipped them with a study that is parallel to our journey in Colossians.

This study is intended to facilitate an opportunity to learn and apply the truths that are preached on Sundays. Each week’s study takes the central themes to higher level of understanding and application. The central theme will be based on the weekly Colossians passage, but will focus upon a parallel text.

In preparation for our study this fall, we will provide the following to our church family:

• Sermon Notes & Podcast Download
• Vintage Kidz Bible Study Notes and Guide
• Weekly Community Group Study Guide (includes worksheet overview and full study)

The Journey Ends and Keeps Going

Yesterday we wrapped up our journey through the Psalms of Ascents. We called our series RISE. The goal of our series was to journey upward towards God as we looked at different spiritual disciplines that were brought out of each Psalm. The journey included Repentance, Providence, Worship, Service, Help, Security, Joy, Work, Happiness, Perseverance, Hope, Humility, Obedience, Community, and Blessing. I reminded Vintage that we were on a marathon, not a sprint. Whether it is joy, hope, community...take it one step at a time. I know most churches live and judge as though they are perfect people, but no one is perfect. So what does this mean? Our summer journey through these Psalms might have ended, but it keeps going.

Here is a basic summary of these Songs:

PSALM OF ASCENTS (Psalm 120-134)
• Songs sung by Hebrew Pilgrims on their journey to Jerusalem (Temple of God).
• Faithful Hebrews would not only participate in daily God-following but also attend events like the Feast of Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles and would also take 3 trips to Jerusalem each year.
• Literal Ascent – Jerusalem was the highest city in Palestine.
• Metaphoric Ascent – Life as a faith-journey lived UPWARD TOWARD GOD

We also journeyed through Eugene Peterson's book, A Long Obedience In The Same Direction. I highly recommend reading this book as you journey through these Psalms. Here are some of my favorite quotes from this book:

• “It is a rejection that is also an acceptance, a leaving that develops into an arriving, a no to the world that is a yes to God.”
• “Every skeptical thought, every disappointing venture, every pain, every despair that we can face is lived through and integrated into a personal, saving relationship with God – a relationship that also has in it acts of praise, blessing, peace, security, trust, and love.”
• “God wants us to sing like this! Christians are not fussy moralists who cluck their tongues over a world going to hell; Christians are people who praise the God who is on their side. Christians are not pious pretenders in the midst of a decadent culture; Christians are robust witnesses to the God who is our help. Christians are not fatigued outcasts who carry righteousness as a burden in a world where the wicked flourish; Christians are people who sing “Oh, blessed be God!...He didn’t abandon us defenseless.”
• “We want a Christian faith that has stability but is not petrified, that has vision but is not hallucinatory. How do we get both the sense of stability and the spirit of adventure, the ballast of good health and the zest of true sanity? How we get the adult maturity to keep our feet on the ground and retain the childlike innocence to make the leap of faith?”

Another great part about our journey was hearing from some of our other leadership. I praise God for the quality leadership that has surrounded me at Vintage. I am extremely blessed to be linked with these studs. Thx Drew, Brick, John, Luke, Gavin, and Matt for faithfully preaching the Word. You can listen to all of the messages from this series at our podcast (http://www.vintagenola.org/podcast).

Concluding Thoughts:
I am going to conclude my thoughts as Eugene Peterson did in his book. All of life is about one thing, glorifying God. Peterson brings up the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catchism is "What is the chief end of man?". The answer is "To glorify God and enjoy him forever." Yesterday I preached on Psalm 134 about "Blessing". Ultimate blessing is found in God. That is it. Our goal on this journey isn't to gain more knowledge, become more spiritual, receive health and wealth...our goal is God. Our carnal mind doesn't allow us to understand the blessing that we will receive when we get to heaven. We will worship God. We won't think about our status, our location...we will be united with Christ.

Lord, keep your church focused throughout our journey in this world on YOU!

FOLLOW THE RULES!!!

MissionLab 2009 Week 7 from MissionLab New Orleans on Vimeo.

I can't believe that we have just wrapped up another MissionLab Summer. Over 3000 people poured into NOLA to share the love of Christ. I am so thankful to Christ for the privilege of journeying with this mission over the last 4 years. We had an incredible summer staff that served Christ with everything. We raised tons of money to help our friend Hannah Sterling stay in Africa. We loved people all over the city of New Orleans. We saw people come to know Christ at camp and in the city. If they'll keep us, the AOB and Rob show will keep it going for another summer.

To all my friends out there that came to NOLA...I love ya and thanks for coming. Keep "BEING THE CHURCH". God has called you to a great mission.

For your enjoyment, I have uploaded the rules video that my boy Dan and Brett put together. Mike and Travis did a great job making this probably the most amazing rap video ever. As you will notice (and in my defense), I didn't have my lines memorized. Started looking like a Bruce Lee movie towards the end. By the way, that isn't Fat Joe rapping next to me, it's Andrew Ogea.

MissionLab 2009 Follow The Rules Rap from MissionLab New Orleans on Vimeo.